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As an (admittedly) low income person, I prefer to pay for my gas and electricity in advance with a prepayment card and key.
As a way of avoiding a monthly or quarterly shock, it works, although I obviously pay more for my heating and power.
But that’s not what I’m writing about…..

Today I put £20 on my British Gas card (enough for almost 2 weeks) and having got home I stuck it in the meter slot. A long ‘beeeeeeep’ signalled that it hadn’t been accepted. I pulled it out and shoved it back in with a bit of pressure – which usually works. A quick ‘snap’ and I was left holding half a card!
Fortunately I was able to extract the other half from the meter….and so I phoned British Gas.

“You’ll have to buy another card – they’re £8” she said. I saved my expletives for later…..
I said that it had been a pain getting it to be accepted by the meter – that the shop said it was probably faulty or worn out; implying that the card needed replacing by British Gas, presumably.
“You should have ordered another one” she said without emotion.

No joy on that tack – so where do I get a new card?
From my local Cash Point shop…..then I have to bring it home; stick it in the meter for a few minutes and then go back to the shop and put some money on it.
“So what happens to the £20 I’ve put on the old card?” I asked, “And who pays for all the petrol to get me to the shop and back again?” (I can’t walk far without pain)

No chance of a travel voucher (no surprise!!) So she gave me an address to return the old card to. When will I get the money back? “It takes about 3 weeks to process a refund” she said.

Now fortunately I have some cash put aside but as a basic income pensioner, I don’t have a lot of cash to spare. So not only do I pay over the odds for gas but I’ve had to spend £8 and buy some more gas – and I’ve ‘lost’ £20 for 3 weeks.

Is that the best that British Gas can do?
Feeble service in my opinion.

So don’t lose or break your Gas card – it’ll hurt you more than it hurts British Gas

For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism.
No one is listening until you make a mistake.

I prefer to pay for my gas and electricity in advance with a prepayment card and key.
As a way of avoiding a monthly or quarterly shock, it works, although I obviously pay more for my heating and power.
...
So not only do I pay over the odds for gas

Actually you pay the same as you would on a quarterly bill.
It would be cheaper to switch to DD which also avoids the 'quarterly shock'. You can also choose to pay in full monthly, although you still end up forking out more in the winter.
There are also internet DD tariffs which are cheaper again.

“

A long ‘beeeeeeep’ signalled that it hadn’t been accepted. I pulled it out and shoved it back in with a bit of pressure – which usually works. A quick ‘snap’ and I was left holding half a card!

The other option (that you should have been offered) was to wait while a card gets posted out to you. It'll still cost £8, and you'd still have to wait for the £20, but you wouldn't need to pay for travel costs. You'd need to have enough credit on your meter to last until the card arrives - usually up to 3 working days, but remember Sundays and bank holidays.
The card costs money to make, program etc and the £8 reflects that.

As a point of interest, what else would you want your gas supplier to do?

ETA: I work for British Gas, in that department.

Last edited by SwanJon; 29-08-2010 at 2:12 PM.

I am an employee of British Gas, however the views expressed on this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of Centrica, its subsidiaries or affiliated companies.

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